In the situation where Hayward opts our and Cs get nothing, how do the Cs pivot? Do they continue to go the slow/development route? Do they trade Kemba? I don’t see them having the assets nor talent to be legit competitors next year.
Even without Hayward the Celts still have the key ingredients of the team that swept the Sixers and beat the Raptors in 7. There's plenty of reason to expect Tatum and Brown to be even better next year and for the team as a whole to improve its crunch time execution.
If they retool the bench a bit and Tatum takes another step forward, they should absolutely be in the mix for a top 3 seed.
Our playoff run was overrated IMO.
Sure we whooped Philly, but they didn’t have Simmons and we didn’t have to play in Philly at all (they were a wretched road team and I believe had the best home record). And then Toronto we went the full 7 with, despite nobody considering them a true contender. Then we lost to an inferior, albeit hot, team in Miami.
I don’t believe we would have beaten Milwaukee either had they not collapsed against Miami (which they probably would not have if it weren’t for the bubble).
This team would be good, probably dangerous, without Hayward. But they won’t be a contender without him or something meaningful in return for his departure.
I 100% agree with this.
Our putrid body language and general inconsistency were the biggest playoff themes to me, even against Philly. We should have decimated them every game.
I thought Miami was a better matchup for us than Milwaukee, but we were not flowing at all. No chutzpah in our play for more than 10 minutes/game at most against them- I’d be interested to hear what the players actually have to say about this year’s locker room. Vibe still didn’t feel right. Things out of place. But..
Tatum needs time to figure out what kind of player he wants to be. Apparently he can do everything now that his confidence caught up with him lol. But he needs to play more in the system, even if the system needs to adapt to him.
Not to mention Jaylen also needed more touches down the line. He kept us in the game at times, and seemed to perform when given the ball in the 4th.
It’s their team. We live and die with how they coexist together and with the whole squad. For better and worse they’re not even near their prime. As long as those guys are happy in Boston, things will work out.
But for now we need our vets to play like vets. Hayward and Kemba need to stay healthy and on the team lol. Otherwise we’re only looking to the future.